Clay County, Alabama Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Clay County, Alabama, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Clay County, Alabama. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Clay County, Alabama. The estimated population of Clay County, Alabama is 14,184 people, with a median age of 43.3.

We can look at the total population in Clay County over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
14,184
+6.77%
+5.80%
2020
13,285
 -0.39% -
2019
13,337
 -0.31% -
2018
13,378
 -0.22% -
2017
13,407
 - -

Population of Clay County, Alabama by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
80.4%
80.2%
 +0.25%
Black/African American
13.3%
14.7%
 -9.52%
Native
0%
0.9%
 -100.00%
Hispanic
3.1%
3.1%
 0.00%
Asian
0.2%
0%
 0.00%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
2.9%
0.9%
 +222.22%
Other
0.1%
0.2%
 -50.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Clay County, Alabama by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 43.3 -0.23% 41.7 -1.88% 45.9 +2.68%
2020 43.4 +0.23% 42.5 -0.47% 44.7 +0.9%
2019 43.3 -0.92% 42.7 -1.84% 44.3 +0.45%
2018 43.7 -0.23% 43.5 -0.68% 44.1 +0.68%
2017 43.8 - 43.8 - 43.8 -

The median age of Clay County, Alabama gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 729 1.89% 736 0.59% 711 732
10 to 19 927 +13.45% 847 +15.96% 1,005 984
20 to 29 624 +29.32% 805 -15.52% 827 683
30 to 39 523 +37.24% 775 +1.58% 742 781
40 to 49 1,020 -10.03% 804 +12.24% 903 894
50 to 59 1,045 -2.66% 1,092 -7.57% 1,006 1,009
60 to 69 769 +14.93% 913 +5.99% 862 967
70+ 834 +11.37% 964 +18.34% 929 1,149

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Clay County, Alabama is $45,163.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Clay County.

  • Under 25
    $0.00
  • 25 to 44
    $46,026.00
  • 45 to 64
    $64,271.00
  • 65 and over
    $31,216.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Clay County, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Clay County, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Clay County, Alabama is currently $65,502.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

3.13% of households in Clay County are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Clay County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    27.51%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    26.86%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    16.47%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    9.06%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    13.63%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    3.35%
  • $200,000 or more
    3.13%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Clay County is $26,255.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Clay County by the total population of Clay County.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Clay County, Alabama, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Clay County to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    6.72%
  • Bachelor's degree
    17.19%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    12.28%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    62.78%
  • Less than high school diploma
    1.03%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Clay County that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Clay County over the age of 16 is 11,485.

Of those people, a total of 50.60% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Clay County is 47.30%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 733 19.60% 2.10%
20 to 24 years 783 66.20% 6.60%
25 to 29 years 727 79.10% 37.90%
30 to 34 years 868 74.70% 0.90%
35 to 44 years 1,505 75.00% 3.20%
45 to 54 years 1,884 80.30% 2.40%
55 to 59 years 1,078 59.60% 2.50%
60 to 64 years 1,046 40.50% 0.00%
65 to 74 years 1,605 12.20% 0.00%
75 years and over 1,256 1.50% 26.30%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Clay County. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 9,631 51.40% 5.00%
Black or African American 1,532 44.50% 14.40%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0 0.00% 0.00%
Asian 35 100.00% 31.40%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.00% 0.00%
Other 1 100.00% 0.00%
Two or more races 286 49.70% 0.00%
Hispanic or Latino 195 100.00% 0.00%
Not Hispanic or Latino 9,483 50.60% 5.10%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Clay County as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Clay County is 5,433, with median earnings of $35,455.00.

Women in Clay County, Alabama earning approximately 70.90% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 5,433 $35,455.00
Male 2,919 $39,358.00
Female 2,514 $27,908.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 430 $72,500.00
Business and Financial 203 $26,932.00
Computer and Mathematical 50 $95,345.00
Architecture and Engineering 67 $101,250.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 25 $0.00
Community and Social Service 118 $41,333.00
Legal 46 $0.00
Educational and Library 202 $50,278.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 0 $0.00
Healthcare Practitioners 598 $56,774.00
Healthcare Support 64 $30,357.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 9 $0.00
Law Enforcement 60 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 114 $11,141.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 195 $25,987.00
Personal Care and Service 66 $2,499.00
Sales 436 $45,608.00
Office and Administrative Support 498 $30,872.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 22 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 424 $37,556.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 131 $40,417.00
Production 1,086 $30,548.00
Transportation and Material Moving 338 $31,324.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 219 $89,375.00 211 $36,250.00
Business and Financial 51 $93,281.00 152 $6,389.00
Computer and Mathematical 43 $0.00 7 $0.00
Architecture and Engineering 43 $116,875.00 24 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 25 $0.00 0 $0.00
Community and Social Service 12 $0.00 106 $41,250.00
Legal 36 $0.00 10 $0.00
Educational and Library 48 $115,278.00 154 $49,904.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 0 $0.00 0 $0.00
Healthcare Practitioners 79 $59,203.00 519 $52,277.00
Healthcare Support 0 $0.00 64 $30,357.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 0 $0.00 9 $0.00
Law Enforcement 60 $0.00 0 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 43 $18,661.00 71 $10,788.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 126 $37,819.00 69 $12,000.00
Personal Care and Service 13 $0.00 53 $0.00
Sales 274 $54,116.00 162 $9,873.00
Office and Administrative Support 39 $53,125.00 459 $30,785.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 22 $0.00 0 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 388 $38,034.00 36 $31,129.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 121 $41,806.00 10 $0.00
Production 802 $30,982.00 284 $26,453.00
Transportation and Material Moving 280 $36,638.00 58 $0.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 5,399 households in Clay County, with an average household size of 2.59 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 3,721 families in Clay County with an average family size of 3.21 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 2,927 174 620 1,678
Average Household Size 3.21 3.35 3.32 1.15
Total Families 2,927 174 620 0
Average Household Size 3.19 3.27 3.27 0

Poverty

Of the 3,721 families in Clay County, 13.90% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Clay County:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 7,009 housing units in Clay County, Alabama.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 5,399 77.03%
Vacant 1,610 22.97%

14.98% of the total 7,009 housing units in Clay County are rental units. This is approximately 1,050 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 4,131 are occupied by the owner - or 58.94% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Clay County is $521.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Clay County that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    218
  • Less than $500
    489
  • $500 to $999
    525
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    36
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    0
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    0
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    0

Property Value

The median value of a property in Clay County is $122,400.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Clay County that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    585
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    966
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    769
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    555
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    735
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    383
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    110
  • $1,000,000 or more
    28

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Clay County. The chart below shows the number of properties in Clay County that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    846
  • 1940 to 1949
    311
  • 1950 to 1959
    591
  • 1960 to 1969
    875
  • 1970 to 1979
    776
  • 1980 to 1989
    905
  • 1990 to 1999
    1,542
  • 2000 to 2009
    749
  • 2010 to 2013
    414
  • 2014 or later
    0

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Clay County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    349
  • 1 vehicle available
    1,306
  • 2 vehicles available
    1,794
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    1,950

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Clay County get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Clay County that commute to work in a particular way.

28.7 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Clay County.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    337
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    757
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    675
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    697
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    484
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    174
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    348
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    100
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    302
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    487
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    491
  • 90 or more minutes
    201

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Clay County, Alabama in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Places in Clay County, Alabama

We have data for 8 places in Clay County, Alabama. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.